


Paid in Exposure

by FlatPillow



Category: Day6 (Band)
Genre: Asylum, Dowoon has a summer job, Everyone Has Issues, Everyone Needs A Hug, Everyone need therapy, Jae and Sungjin are brats, M/M, Wonpil is clueless, Younghyun is angsty, jyp groups mentioned
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-04
Updated: 2021-03-04
Packaged: 2021-03-17 16:46:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,670
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29844462
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FlatPillow/pseuds/FlatPillow
Summary: Dowoon needs to support himself now that he's out of school. His uncle offered him a job at the mental hospital his friend owns. He got the job right away.As the other workers were showing him around, he noticed how messed up that place is. He made a promise to four of the patients that he would bail them out of that hell hole.~•~And yes I know full well that this is not what a real mental hospital looks like. This is for the story and not intended to be presented as fact
Kudos: 6





	1. Don’t Mess Up

His mom drove off, leaving Dowoon standing outside the mental hospital. Now that he has graduated high school, he needs to be able to support himself financially. At a family reunion, his uncle offered him a job at a mental hospital his buddy owns.

Dowoon got the job almost immediately because his uncle hyped him up for his friend. He seemed very excited to hire Dowoon. Apparently not many people apply for a job there. Dowoon assumed that his uncle's friend was desperate for workers and didn't care who applied. He could understand why people didn't apply often.

The hospital was cold and dank. It could easy violate multiple building and health codes. The only way you could get the damn place was if you drive through the woods. There wasn't even a path. Dowoon has been to a couple mental hospitals before, weather it be for a friend or himself. He had seen nothing like this sad excuse of a hospital. He pushed those thoughts away and tried to at least seem eager to start working.

 _This will pay my bills_ , Dowoon thought to himself.

His uncle's friend was waiting in the main lobby for him. He got up from his seat behind the reception and stuck a hand out to Dowoon.

"Good morning, Mr. Hwang," Dowoon took his hand and shook it firmly.

"Ready for your first day on the job son?" He asked cheerfully.

"Yep," he somewhat lied.

"Fantastic! These two young men will give you a tour of the building and the daily routine that we have here. Dowoon, this is Mark and Youngjae. They've both been working her for almost four years. They're very experienced and well prepared for anything so if you need anything, let them know." And with that, Mr. Hwang left the three guys alone. They stood without sharing any words for a depressing amount of time. One of the two boys finally spoke up.

"So...where'd you like to start?" Youngjae asked.

"I don't really know where to start," Dowoon chuckled.

"Well let's start with something simple," Mark suggested, "for example, this is the reception. This is where you'll be for a while. Most people start here at reception. If you get lucky, you'll get promoted somehow and you don't have to rot away behind this desk. And by the way, if you see one of the patients walking around at night, immediately send them back to bed. A few of them tend to sleep walk so you'll have to guide them back to their room. Which are right over here."

Mark and Youngjae guided Dowoon down a hallway to their right that was as cold as cold could be. The cement walls left no way for heat to enter. Goosebumps crawled over Dowoon's skin as the temperature drops. It smelled like many things have died. Rodents, bugs, people, hopes and dreams, you name it. The case for the fire extinguisher had a crack in the glass with fire burns around it. Kinda ironic.

Of course the other two were unphased by everything. They've probably journeyed through that hallway countless times. The sound of someone giggling made Dowoon jump a little. Mark and Youngjae didn't even notice him. Dowoon looked at every corner of the hallway to try to make sense of everything. This hospital is not normal. How could anyone allow this to happen? Dowoon jumped again when the distant sound of a man screaming came from another hall.

"Ah shit," Youngjae whispered to himself, "I gotta go check on Jinyoung real quick. Can you take over?"

"Yep," Mark nodded, "I'm a big boy, I can do this." Youngjae punched Mark's arm because of his mocking tone. Youngjae went on his way to another hallway and Mark carried on in the opposite direction with Dowoon.

"Does...does that happen often around here?" Dowoon said.

Mark let out a deep breath.

"Yeah," he mumbled, "but sadly, you'll get used to it." Silence fell over them and was here to stay.

A girl screamed profanities and insults out of no where from their right, causing Dowoon to step back. Mark calmly walked towards the room.

"You ok in there, Jeongyeon? Do you want talk to someone?"

"I guess," she mumbled. Mark pulled out his walkie-talkie and spoke into it.

"Hey, can either Momo or JB come to cell 48 to talk to Yoo Jeongyeon?"

"Sorry, I'm a little busy, man," a guy spoke from the device, "a new kid just got here and we gotta handle him."

"I'll be right there!" A girl's voice emitted from the walkie-talkie. "I'm close to that wing anyway."

"Hey Jeongyeon, Momo is on her way," he shouted into the room, "you can talk to her instead of yelling."

"Yay," a tiered voice came from the other side of the door.

Mark continued walking and Dowoon followed. Dowoon played that conversation over in his head a few times. He found it rather odd that he said "cell" for some reason. He decided not to ponder on it, as it was probably nothing and he just misspoke.

"What was all that about?"

"She likes to scream at the wall," Mark informed, "she views the wall as someone she's mad at. We'd rather have her talk to one of us then blow out her vocal cords."

"What do you guys do with new people? Didn't that one guy say that he had to "handle" him?"

"It's...it's hard to explain. My friend JB and this guy Chan usually deal with new comers. We're right near that wing now actually. Let's keep going because I don't think you want to see that. Dowoon?"

Mark turned around to see Dowoon staring down the hallway with a young boy screaming along with two men following him. He was running away. He was rather young as well.

"NO! NO PLEASE STOP! I DONT BELONG HERE! BRING ME BACK! LET ME FUCKING LEAVE! LET ME GO! GOD HELP ME!!!"

Dowoon couldn't move. This young boy is being dragged away while screeching. He broke free of their grip again and was very close to Dowoon and Mark.

"HELP ME PLEASE! I DONT BELONG HERE! FIND MY FAMILY! PLEASE!" He gripped onto Dowoon's shoulders. "MY NAME IS LEE FELIX! FIND MY FAMILY AND GET ME THE FUCK OUTTA HERE!"

The two men pulled him away from Dowoon and carried him to the end of the hall and strapped him to a chair. Mark was pulling on Dowoon's shirt so they could leave. But he couldn't look away. He wanted to but he couldn't. The younger man covered Felix's mouth and muffled his screams. The other man pulled out a huge instrument and brought it closer to the kid.

He screeched more and more. He kick and shimmied in his seat. Mark yanked Dowoon and finally pulled him away. He still could not process any of what just happened. Felix's screams could still be heard. After a moment, they stopped. His mind went racing. Mark shook Dowoon's shoulders to bring him back to the real world.

"I told you that we shoulda gotten outta there! You need to listen to us if you want to work here!" As harsh as Mark's words were, his tone was very sincere. He seemed more scared for Dowoon than anything.

"I'm sorry," Dowoon breathed out, "I just couldn't look away."

"I know," Mark said, just above a whisper. "I was the same way. But I don't want you going through any of that stuff that I did. Later down the line will be better than now. Let's-let's keep going."

They continued the walk through the hospital that felt like the size of a Cathedral. Every time they turned a corner, even more hallways appeared.

Dowoon's feet started to hurt from all the walking and climbing stairs.

"Hey Mark, could we take a little break?"

"Yeah, sure."

The two sat on a bench outside room 314: Park Sungjin. The room seemed to be dead silent except for heavy breathing. They seemed exaggerated but not uncontrolled. Mark continued to explain their routine and rules that they have.

"Once you get promoted, you'll most likely be with us. Youngjae, JB, Chan, Momo, Jihyo, Lia, Minho, and I walk throughout the building and check up on the patients. If one of them sounds like they're in distress, try to talk to them and calm them down. A lot of people here have panic disorders so they need a lot of reassurance. If you don't feel comfortable doing it on your own, call one of us. You'll get a walkie-talkie soon enough. You'll soon find out which one of us the patients prefers. Some may not like you at first so don't take it personally."

Dowoon nodded and looked to the floor. He started thinking if he was really cut out for this. This job was a lot more intense than he first thought. He didn't really know what he was expecting. Mark seemed to pick up on Dowoon's doubts.

"Do you...want to practice on someone?" Mark asked standing up.

"That would be nice." Dowoon stood up and followed Mark a couple doors down. Room 327: Kim Wonpil.

"This is Wonpil. He's usually very nice. He's very easy to deal with and keeps to himself. Just a fair warning, he tends to over share some times. It's actually kinda amusing. He doesn't know half the things he's saying though," Mark says with a laugh. He knocks on the door and waits for a response.

"Hello?"

"Hey Wonpil, it's Mark! May I come in? I have a friend with me."

"Sure!"

Mark pushed the door open and for the first time Dowoon saw inside one of the rooms. It kept the theme of cement everything and cold temperatures. His room smelled much nicer than the hallways. He had a twin sized bed in one of the corners. All the blankets were pushed to the end of the bed. One of the two pillows was on the floor. Wonpil sat in a wooden chair next to his bed with his knees bunched up to his chest. In his left hand was a bottle of nail polish. He seemed to have some old nail polish on his fingers already.

"Where'd you get that from?" Mark asked. He spoke as if Wonpil was a child. He didn't seem to mind however.

"Jihyo gave it to me!" He smiled. "She saw that I was picking at it so she gave me some of hers. She was just here."

"Where did she go?"

"She's probably in the bathroom."

Mark ruffled Wonpil's hair as they both smiled.

"Who's that?" Wonpil pointed at Dowoon.

"This is Dowoon. He's going to be helping out here now! He's very nice."

"Hi Wonpil. How are you?"

"Tired."

"Me too."

"Why are your pants ripped?" He pointed at Dowoon's pants.

"Oh, they came like that."

"My pants got ripped when Jaehyung pushed me down the stairs last week."

Mark face palmed.

"Why did he do that?"

"Because I was trying to make his hair look like it was all spiky but he's a prick and didn't like me doing that so he pushed me down the stairs while Jisung laughed."

"Wonpil, I don't think Dowoon wanted to know about Jae pushing you down the stairs. And what did we say about strong language?"

"It's immature," Wonpil mumbled.

"Very good," Mark ruffled his hair again. "Dowoon, anything you want to say to Wonpil before we leave?"

"It was nice meeting you. And I like your nail polish."

"Really?!" Dowoon couldn't help but smile.

"Yeah, I think it looks great."

"Do you want to try some?"

"Not right now Wonpil," Mark walked towards the door, "I'm showing Dowoon around building today."

"Maybe another time," Dowoon said before leaving.

He caught a glimpse of Wonpil's huge smile. He mirrored his smile as they walked down the hall.

"That wasn't so bad," Dowoon said.

"He just doesn't know when to stop talking."

"Eh, we all do it from time to time."

Smiling to himself, Mark turned to Dowoon and lightly nudged him with his elbow.

"I think you're going to be great here."

"Really?" Dowoon asked in confusion.

"Yeah! You're pretty understanding. You're better at that than most of us here and it's your first day! I think you're really going to fit in around here." Mark patted his shoulder.

Dowoon cracked a little smile. He continued to trail behind Mark as they reach a staircase. Up the stairs was a long hallway with windows leading to another building. This was the first time Dowoon had seen light all day. The rest of the building lacked any natural light. The door leading to the building had many locks on Dowoon and Mark's side. He pulled out a collection on keys from his pocket and started unlocking.

"Now Dowoon," Mark stared at him with a very serious expression, "this is a place where a lot more serious patiences go. Sometimes they just stay here for a few days if they've had bad behavior, like Jae, the guy that pushed Wonpil down the stairs. He just got released two days ago. But, most of the time, they stay. I will never let you in here alone. Whatever you do, don't go in here without one of us."

Mark unlocked the final lock and tried to push the door open. Dowoon helped him open the door. There was one door in the north, south, east, and west on each level. There were about six levels. _These_ rooms looked like cells. They had to keep them contained somehow.

They walked in the door in the west on the first floor. They other three doors on that level weren't numbered like in the main building. They just had names.

Kang Younghyun

Kim Dahyun

Kupimook Bhuwakul

Dowoon did not want to stay there for long. The door for the cell in the north was being pounded on, followed by a girl screaming bloody murder. Mark power-walked over time the door and pounded on it just as hard.

"WHAT DID WE SAY ABOUT YELLING?"

"PISS OFF BITCH BOY BEFORE I RIP YOUR NIPPLES OFF AND SHOVE THEM UP YOUR NOSE!"

"JUST BE QUIET DAHYUN!"

Mark sighed heavily and marched back over to Dowooon.

"I think it's time to leave."

"Yes please," Dowoon shakily replied. Mark ushered him through the door. He took out his keys as fast as he could and locked every one. The two sped their way down the hall and back to the main building.

After navigating through the monster of a building, they made it back to reception. Dowoon plopped down on the wheely chair.

"I think I showed you everything you need to know for right now," Mark leaned on the counter, "you can stay here for now. The bathrooms are right down that hall. I believe your shift ends at 5 am. Hyunjin will come in for the day shift. He'll most likely have his name tag on so you'll know it's him. Your walkie-talkie is right there so call me if you need anything." Mark played a little beat on the counter before leaving down the hall they came from.

Dowoon sat in utter silence. As creepy as this place was, he'd rather have a noisy environment than a dead one. He found two pens on the desk and stared drumming a little beat. In high school he played the drums in band so he was no stranger to percussion.

He was very close to obliterating the radio beside him. The constant static was driving him crazy. Instead of destroy something on his first day, Dowoon tried to fix the radio station. He turned the nob to find the right connection. Finally, he got it to stop making noises and the news started playing. Dowoon tunes it out for the most part. He just wanted to have background noise. It's not good to be left alone with your thoughts.

He looked to the digital clock on the desk; 9:27 pm. Eight hours to go...

==


	2. More Than He Bargained For

Dowoon stole a glance at the clock every now and then to see that only a couple minutes have passed. By this time, it was 12:34 am and he was going mad. Mr. Hwang wouldn't be upset if he got up and moved around for a few minutes, right?

What was the point of having someone work at reception in the middle of the night?

Dowoon stood up and walked down the hallway to his left. He stopped dead in his tracks, staring down the dark, freezing, seemingly empty, dank hallway. The hospital was even scarier during the night.

Dowoon remembered Mark saying that patients tend to wonder at night so there's no telling what was in the darkness. He checked his pockets to make sure he was prepared for anything. Walkie-talkie: check. Flashlight: check. Keys: check. If only he had something to defend himself.

Dowoon crept down the left wing, shining his flashlight in every corner of the hall. He swore that a rat darted across the view of the light. He shivered at the thought of it and kept going. The sound of distant footsteps startled him. The goosebumps from earlier returned to his skin. His breathing was irregular and out of control. The footsteps came closer and a silhouette came into view.

"Who's there?" Dowoon cowardly spat out. "If you're one of the patients, go back to sleep. If you're an intruder, I have an annoying radio and I know how to use it!"

"Relax dude. It's just me," a younger boy said. He stepped into view of the light and Dowoon recognized him from earlier. He was one of the men that had to hold Felix back. "You're new here, right?"

"Um-yeah. I'm Dowoon."

"I'm Chan. Nice to meet you man. Shouldn't you be at reception?"

"Oh...yeah...I should probably go back-"

"No no, I get it," Chan stopped Dowoon from leaving, "I just got promoted like last week. You can walk around with me if you'd like. It's boring as hell up at the front anyway."

Dowoon agreed and walked with Chan on his usual path. Whenever they pass a room, Chan points his flashlight at each door and the respective sign.

20 Wang Jackson

21 Shin Ryujin

22 Seo Changbin

23 Park Jaehyung

24 Minatozaki Sana

25 Kim Yogyeom

The names seemed endless. It didn't hit Dowoon how many people were hospitalized until now. All he needed was the darkness.

Chan made a sharp turn, catching Dowoon off guard. He followed the boy just as he had done with Mark that whole day. Dowoon covered his bare arms with his hands to preserve some kind of heat. He whipped out his flashlight to calm his nerves a little.

No natural light could enter the building so the two boys walked in pitch black darkness with only their flashlight to guide them. Everyone seemed to be asleep at this time. Many rooms and loud snoring or breathing from the person inside. It was absolutely silent. Almost.

A couple wings down, a boy screeched. The boys snapped their heads to that direction and booked it down the hall. Dowoon could see jack shit so he just followed Chan to the best of his ability.

They ran up the stairs and came to a familiar hallway with Mark and two girls outside a cell, trying to get in. Dowoon shined his light on the sign to Wonpil's door. Mark used the master key but the door wouldn't open.

"What's going on?!" Chan asked.

"Do either one of you have another master key?" One of the girls asked, very panicked. "I left mine on the second floor."

Dowoon reached into his pocket and threw the keys towards Mark. He dropped his set of keys and tried using Dowoon's.

Wonpil continued to scream as some other patients woke up and asked what was happening through their doors. The girls and Chan were trying to calm them down and convincing them to go back to sleep. Mark finally got the door open and Dowoon rushed in behind him.

Wonpil was sitting on the floor with his back leaning against his tiny twin bed. His covers were pushed to the end of his bed again and both pillows were on the opposite side of the room. The nightstand next to his bed was nocked over and his water cup was spilling all over the place.

Dowoon ran to Wonpil to check on him. Both were breathing heavy as Wonpil grabbed Dowoon. He would not stop looking at the wall. Mark entered the room fully and closed the door. Wonpil pointed at the corner of the room while speaking gibberish.

"What's wrong Pil?" Mark asked.

"That! THAT!"

Dowoon and Mark looked to where he was pointing. Dowoon's heartbeat was in his neck. He felt his pulse skyrocket while staring.

A tall, black figure stood in the corner of Wonpil's tiny room.

Mark pulled a gun out of his pocket and pointed at the figure. He inched closer to the light switch. He flipped it to reveal an old, old face. The man did not look old but his face was as old as time. He was balding and had strands of hair as a sad excuse for a beard. He had on a faded, dark green shirt as well as tan khakis. In his hand were a set of keys. Just like the ones Mark and Dowoon own.

"GET DOWN BEFORE I BLOW YOUR FUCKING BRAINS OUT!" Mark yelled. Dowoon was intimidated by Mark. He had more bravery than Dowoon could ever have. Wonpil held Dowoon close to him as he sobbed. Dowoon rubbed his back to at least calm his breathing.

The man chuckled as he kneeled on the ground with his hands in the air. Mark grabbed the keys from him and threw them behind him for Dowoon to catch.

"Where the hell did you get these?!"

"Nothing you need to know, Marky," he sneered.

Mark's face twisted in disgust. He reached for his walkie-talkie and spoke into it.

"Jihyo, put the building on lockdown. We have an intruder on our hands."

He kept the gun pointed at the man. All the man did was smile and stare at Mark. Wonpil let out a loud whimper and the man shot his gaze to him. His smile only grew.

"LEAVE ME ALONE!" He screamed.

Dowoon held him close. He rubbed Wonpil's head and ran his fingers through his hair. Chan entered the room and Mark yelled at him to either get back or leave the room. Chan, understandably, left the room.

The man laughed as he kept his gaze locked onto Wonpil. He grabbed the fallen cup from his nightstand and threw it at the creepy guy before him. His smile went away instantaneously.

"I'll fucking kill you, you bitch," the man calmly threatened.

"Don't make me pull this trigger!" Mark yelled.

A girl came in and immediately handcuffed the man. Chan injected something into him and he started losing consciousness. Before he could pass out, he gave one last threat the Wonpil.

"You'll end up...just like your...father...and I'll be there...to make sure..."

The man collapsed on the frigid floor as the girl and Chan dragged him away. Mark shoved his gun back into his pocket and kneeled in front of Wonpil and Dowoon. He grabbed Wonpil's face and made him look up.

"What happened?" He asked sternly yet sweetly.

"I-I wa-I was almost a-asleep when the door o-opened! I th-threw shit at him...but he wouldn't leave!"

Mark looked down at the floor. He grabbed the keys and gave them to the other girl that was with Mark before.

"Lia, take these to Mr. Hwang's office. He'll know what to do with them when he comes in in the morning."

She left with the keys and Mark stared intently at Dowoon.

"I...I don't know how to tell you this...but you might have to stay here. Like, all the time. The building is on lockdown and we need all the workers we can get. We need the patients to be safe. Can you do it?"

Dowoon didn't know how to feel. He just wanted to pay for college. One day left him exhausted from a roller coaster of events. He looked to Wonpil as tears still flowed from his eyes, down his cheeks, and traveled down his neck.

"Please don't go," he whispered.

"Ok. I'll do whatever it takes."

Mark pulled the two of them in for a hug. Dowoon could here Mark crying as well.

"Thanks man," he whimpered, "this means so much."

==


	3. All Eyes On Him

Dowoon slept with the other workers where they usually sleep. They are there most of the time and they have their own little section for them to sleep.

The next day, the atmosphere was tense and uncomfortable. No one wanted to bring up what happened last night. During the day, patients are free to roam around the main building. They tend to stay in the "day center" with all the workers. In that room, they have TVs without cable, board games, books, CDs and records they're aloud to play with the employees permission, and tons of other things to pass the time.

Wonpil had yet to leave his room. Mark and Momo have gone to check up on him many times but he doesn't want to leave. They understood and decided to leave him alone.

Dowoon stood by the wall and observed all the patients and their interactions with each other. All of them were told to wear name tags so he could get to know them better.

"Hey Yeji, what time is it?" Jeongin asked the girl.

"JB, where did you put my medicine?" Yuna poked his shoulder.

"Where it always is," he replied. "Did you check?"

"No."

His eyebrows furrowed.

"Then why did you ask?"

"I just wanted to make sure no one moved it."

"Trust me, we keep a close eye on those things."

A girl was lying on a table on her back with her head hanging off the edge. A boy came up to her, very confused.

"Chaeyoung, what are you doing?" Jinyoung asked.

"I'm a bat, duh."

A girl sat on a chair in a fetal position reading the back of a Harry Potter book.

Dowoon glanced over to two boys sitting on the floor within earshot and listened in to their conversation.

"Where's Wonpil?"

"Maybe he's still pissed you shoved him down the stairs."

"He deserved it," the boy mumbled.

The two turned around and stared at Dowoon. Their name tags read, Jae and Sungjin.

"Do you know where Kim Wonpil is?" Sungjin asked.

"He's in his room."

"Can we go see him?" Jae stood up. Dowoon immediately noticed how tall he was. He didn't know if it was wrong to bring them to Wonpil. In that moment, Dowoon couldn't see anything wrong with the situation so he agreed.

"I don't see why not. Follow me."

The two boys joyfully followed Dowoon out of the day center and to Wonpil's wing. He checked his pocket to make sure he had his master keys in case Wonpil locked his door. Wonpil had one of the older rooms where it could be locked on the inside. Most of the time, the employees don't lock the doors at night for the ones they trust. If they wonder, it's not a big deal. They just send them back. But after last night, they might have to lock all the doors from now on.

Jae and Sungjin happily bounced in place when they reached Wonpil's room. Dowoon knocked on his door and waited for an answer.

"Go away Momo."

"It's not Momo."

"Then go away Mark."

"Wonpil, it's Dowoon. I have Jae and Sungjin with me. They want to see you. Is that ok?"

"Yeah! Come in!"

His door wasn't locked and Dowoon pushed it open. For once, Wonpil's bed was neat. All the pillows were on the bed with the covers tucked in. The nightstand was back to its normal spot and he no longer had a water cup on it. Wonpil was sitting in the wooden chair holding a rather large blue book.

Jae and Sungjin ran to their friend to talk to him.

"Hey loser! What's poppin'?" Jae overwhelmed him.

"Never say that again," Wonpil laughed.

"Nice nail polish," Sungjin mocked.

"Piss off!"

"Excuse me, Mr. New Guy," Jae turned to Dowoon, "aren't you going to yell at him for swearing?" Jae was not genuine. He wanted to get Wonpil's blood boiling. Which worked.

"I didn't mean it!" Wonpil stood up to defend himself. "I'm not in trouble right?"

Dowoon couldn't be mad. He spoke so gently. Dowoon also didn't know all the rules yet. He shook his head.

"You're not in trouble," Dowoon smiled. "And both of you, leave Wonpil alone."

Sungjin and Jae huffed.

"So what do you want to do today?" Sungjin asked the boys.

"Nothing," Wonpil set the book on his nightstand. Dowoon could now see that he was holding a dictionary.

"Nothing?" Jae raised his eyebrows. "Don't you wanna go downstairs with us?"

"I don't really want to do much today."

"Maybe messing with JB will cheer you up!"

"Nah."

"Do you want to go see Younghyun?" Sungjin suggested.

"We can do that?"

The three boys turned to Dowoon. He didn't know what they wanted.

"Can we go see our friend?"

"Um, sure," Dowoon agreed, "I don't see why not. Where is he?"

"We'll show you," Jae tugged his arm.

"Um, guys," Wonpil said, "I don't think-"

"We'll be fine!" Sungjin interrupted.

Dowoon didn't think too much of it. He was probably paranoid after last night and Mark said that he doesn't know what he's saying half the time. He allowed Jae to lead the group through the halls. They climbed the stairs and made it to a hallway with windows, connecting the two buildings. Dowoon knew better.

"Yeah, we're not supposed to be here alone. Why don't we just go back to the day center, huh?"

"But we're not alone," Sungjin pointed out, "we have you!"

"Mark said that I shouldn't go into this building by myself either."

"You have us!" Jae skipped down the hallway with Sungjin close behind. Dowoon went against his better judgement and followed suit. Wonpil trailed closely behind him and even stepped on his shoes on accident.

Dowoon didn't have any problem with it since it was an honest mistake. Dowoon looked around and briefly reflected on his current situation. He pulled out his keys and started unlocking the many locks.

One eternity later and they were in. Sungjin helped Dowoon push the heavy door open to reveal the tall tower. He immediately spotted their friends' room.

"There!" Jae pointed, "Kang Younghyun!"

Sungjin gave Dowoon a push towards the door and pulled out his master key. To his surprise, the key didn't work. He flipped through a few keys and found one that matched. Before he unlocked the door, he knocked and made his presence known.

"Hello? Younghyun?"

"what?" A grim voice hissed.

"I-uh-I have some of your friends with me. They wanted to see you."

"Ya gonna lock 'em up with me?"

"No. They want to talk to you. Is that ok?"

Silence.

Sungjin and Jae waited patiently with their eyes glued to the door. Wonpil's eyes were focused on another door-the one they entered from.

"Can we come in?" Dowoon asked after dead silence on both ends.

"Sure," he sounded amused.

Dowoon unlocked the door to see this boy handcuffed to two mental polls on the wall. The room was tiny, even smaller then Wonpil's. On the wall was a plaque that read:

Temper, temper,  
Never the answer

The boy was dirty and had mad hair. His wrists were red and brushed from the handcuffs. The room was stuffy and hard to breath in. He was seated on a small cushion that had no more structure to it. Dowoon set the keys down on a wooden table next to the door.

The two boys came in to see their friend while Wonpil stayed outside the room. They didn't question why Younghyun was like this.

"What's poppin' man?"

"What?"

"Never mind."

The three carried on a normal conversation as if Younghyun wasn't tied up. Dowoon stepped out of the room and let them talk. He wondered why Wonpil was staring at the entrance.

"What's wrong, Wonpil?"

"Someone followed us."

"No one followed us," Dowoon patted his shoulder, "we would've seen them. I think you're just paranoid."

"No!" He grabbed Dowoon's arm before he could walk away. "Can you please go check with me?" He begged.

Dowoon sighed and agreed to go with Wonpil. They left the other three to talk about whatever they want. Dowoon pushed the door open and couldn't see anyone. Wonpil's eyes darted everywhere, in search of proof that he wasn't lying.

"I swear, someone followed us."

"I think you're just really anxious after last night, Pil. No one followed us. Let's go back to the others."

Dowoon put his hands on Wonpil's shoulders and guided him through the door. Wonpil still would not look away from the entrance. They went back to Younghyun's room to meet with the others.

No one was there.

Sungjin, Jae, and even Younghyun were no longer in the small, cramped space. His handcuffs were still there, only opened. The two boys knew that they had to find them. As they went to turn around, the door slammed shut.

Wonpil screamed. Dowoon immediately went to pound on the door.

"Guys!" Dowoon yelled, "the door closed on us! Can you open the door?!"

"Nah," a voice mocked, "we'll let you out in, mmm, 6 months."

"WHAT?!"

"We'll see how you like it."

Dowoon looked to the small, wooden table to find the keys missing. He punched and kicked the door.

"OPEN THIS DOOR NOW!!!"

"What are you gonna do?" His voice patronized them, "if you call for help, they'll ask how you got there. Do you really want to get in trouble on your second day?"

They had this all planned out. Dowoon's thoughts ran ramped, trying to make sense of everything.

_How'd they plan this? Why'd they pick on me? Because I'm new? Was Wonpil apart of this? How were they going to get out? Wait..._

Dowoon shut himself up and turned around to Wonpil crying whilst on the old cushion Younghyun was ridden to. He held his knees to his chest, hyperventilating uncontrollably.

Dowoon didn't know what to do. He barely knew what to do last night. He was just thinking on the fly. All he could think to do what kneel down next to him.

"Hey...it'll be ok...I'll try to get us out of here. Hopefully," he whispered.

"I-I didn't know they were-they were doing this!" Wonpil cried, "you have-have to believe me! They're a bunch of assholes anyway! I'm so sorry I-I didn't know!"

"I know, I know," Dowoon rubbed his back. Wonpil sobbed as Dowoon tried to figure out a way they could get out of there.

Wonpil rocked himself back and forth like he was on a seesaw. Dowoon couldn't comfort him like the other workers yet. He needed their help.

_I brought this upon myself_ , he thought, I deserve whatever punishments they give me.

Dowoon reached into his pocket and grabbed his walkie-talkie while holding Wonpil with his right arm.

"Hey it's Dowoon. I'm trapped in one of the rooms in the tower. It's a long story and I'll explain it when you get here. Just...someone come help...please."

He and Wonpil started to sway as their breathing filled the room. Wonpil went from violently sobbing, to a few hiccups here and there. Dowoon was still at a loss for how to help him. Maybe just talking will help?

"Why don't you try and take your mind off of it."

"How?!" He cried, "we're locked in a tiny room with no way out and I'm partially responsible! How can I possibly take my mind off of it?!"

"Like this," said Dowoon, "how do you like it at this hospital? Do you like the people here?"

"It's...pretty fun," he sighed, "I used to hate Momo because I thought she was condescending or just a bitch but now she's my favorite. I have a few "friends", only I wouldn't call them friends really. I just follow them around and hope that they can tolerate me. I still don't see how this will help. No offense, I just don't think this is working."

"Trust me," Dowoon patted his shoulder, "it will. How do you like to pass time? I'm sure time goes by like a snail."

"Oh, it does," Wonpil giggled, "I never know what day of the week it is. I like to follow Jae and Sungjin around during the morning. They have a lot of energy really early for some reason. Younghyun would always come with us before he was sent here."

"Why was he sent here?"

"I don't know. I was kinda glad because he doesn't seem to like me."

"What makes you think that?"

"Because he straight up told me, 'I don't like you, Wonpil. You talk too much.' So I wasn't too upset when he stopped showing up."

"Oh. Well, that doesn't seem very nice," Dowoon tried to follow Mark's lead. He noticed and tried to mimic how he spoke to Wonpil like a child. He had the mentality of one, which isn't always a bad thing. "Was he ever mean to you?"

"Yeah. He never included me when we all hung out. He would always ignore me or try to lose me so he can go be with the others."

"I'm guessing that frustrated you."

"Yeah," Wonpil sighed, "I was really mad. I would mess with them so that they would think I'm cool and let me hang out with them, but that just made them more pissed at me. That was why Jae pushed me down the stairs. I told them that he pushed me because I was messing with his hair so he wouldn't be more pissed."

Trying to come up with something to say, Dowoon didn't even take notice to fact that Wonpil had calmed down quite a bit. For now, Dowoon's 'go-to' was talking to Wonpil like a child. It was odd to him, but it was all he had.

"Maybe...just talk to them next time. Talk it out before going to war."

Wonpil thought about the suggestion for a bit, thinking over what had already occurred. Before he could ponder on it for too long, a pounding on the door startled both of them. Once again, Wonpil screamed at the sudden noise, right in Dowoon's ear.

"Wonpil?" A female voice questioned from outside mental door. "Are you guys ok?!"

"Yes, we're alright," Dowoon assured, "we'll be even better when we get out of here."

"Right, on that now."

After hearing a set of keys jingling from the opposite end, the door swung open, revealing Momo on the other side along with JB.

Wonpil flew out and get them both huge hugs.

"I'm so sorry! I didn't know they were doing this! I'm sorry!"

Momo turned to Dowoon with clear disapproval.

"I had no idea."

"Well because of that, we have three patients walking around with a full set of keys, and one one of them are supposed to be lock up here due to dangerous behavior. Thank you so much, Dowoon."

"You're welcome," he said with a great deal of attitude.

"What are we going to do about the three that left?" JB asked, pinching the bridge of his nose, understandably stressed.

The three turned their attention to Dowoon.

_I started this_ , he thought, _it's my job to fix it._

"They couldn't have gotten far," he shoved his hands into his pockets. "Does this place have cameras?"

"Yeah, but the quality sucks ass," JB sighed.

"Well we don't need to see their faces because we already know who they are," Dowoon walks to the entrance of the tower and motions for them to follow. "All we need to know is where they're headed."

They all rushed down the halls and stairs to get all the way back to reception. Dowoon plopped down onto the chair and checked the camera footage from not even half an hour ago.

They could see Dowoon unlocking the door for Jae and Sungjin and everything that followed. The camera showed that the three boys left the tower and made their way to the second floor. There, they went inside of one of the rooms.

"That's Sungjin's room," JB pointed out, "why are they in there?"

"I guess we're about to see," Dowoon hit a button and speed up time. Yet, no one came out of the room.

"I think you went past them," JB sighed.

"I don't think so," Momo dragged out. Dowoon stood up and let her fiddle with the footage. She rewound it and played it at a different speed until it reached real time.

"They never left..."


	4. More Than Meets the Eye

"What do you mean they never left?!" JB shouted.

"How many ways can you interpret that sentence?!"

"So they're just inside Sungjin's room?" Wonpil asked.

"Yeah...I guess so," Momo stated, perplexed.

Without any warning, Wonpil turned on his heel and walks down the hall they came from. All three of them stared at each other, equally confused.

"I'll follow him," Dowoon offered.

Speed walking to catch up with him, Dowoon finally sees Wonpil climbing the stairs. He picks up speed and grabs a hold of Wonpil.

"Where are you even going?" Dowoon asked, genuinely confused.

"To Sungjin's," Wonpil stated like it was so obvious. "I want to see what their doing. You can come too."

He raises an eyebrow at the smaller boy in front of him.

"You're not like...paranoid anymore?"

"Maybe a little, but not really."

Dowoon continued to follow him with great caution. He started scaring himself more by convincing himself that Wonpil was apart of their plan.

After climbing the stairs another god damn time, they reached room 314: Park Sungjin.

Wonpil knocked on the door and asked to come in. The door swung open to see a clearly confused Jae.

"How the hell did y'all get out?"

"Long story. Can we come in?"

"You can, Mr. New Guy can't," he hissed. As pissed he was that he had to wait outside, he understood that he was a staff member and these guys don't seem to fond of them.

Dowoon allowed Wonpil to go inside with Jae and the others. After sitting down on same chair that he and Mark sat on the day before, Dowoon finally had a chance to be left alone with his thoughts.

 _So stupid_ , he thought to himself, _why am I so stupid? How could I not see this coming? Who the hell do I think I am for bringing them to the tower? How much more fucking stupid can I get?_

"Hey are you ok, sir?" someone asked.

"Clearly not kid-" he cut himself off when he saw the boy who asked about his well being.

It was the kid who got dragged away by Chan and JB, the one who said he didn't belong there, the one who told him to find his family so he could leave. It took everything in him to remember his name...

"Felix?"

"Yeah?" He asked very confused. "How do you know my name?"

"You don't remember? How do you not remember?"

"I don't know who you are," clearly frightened, Felix started to walk away from Dowoon.

"No, wait!" Dowoon tried to stop him, "I met you when you first came here! You told me to find your family so you could get out of here. You said you didn't belong. What did you mean by that?"

Silence.

Felix stared at him not knowing what to say. His eyebrows furrowed as he clearly did not remember. Yet, the more he looked at Dowoon, the more came back to him. His face softened as the realization hit him.

"Holy shit," he walked to Dowoon and held onto his shoulders, just like the day before, "I remember! You gotta get me outta here!"

"I don't know how..." he broke it to him.

"Once you leave after the lockdown is lifted, find 214 Union Road, that's where my family lives. Give the location of this pathetic excuse for a hospital so they can get me out! They probably have realized that I'm missing by now! Let them know I sent you. Ok?"

His heart broke seeing Felix so clearly distressed. No matter if he needed to be here or not, Dowoon wanted to help this kid anyway he could.

"I'll do my best."

Felix's face beamed with joy and gave Dowoon a massive hug. He could tell that he was crying a little.

"Thank you so much for even trying!"

"No problem, Felix," he hugged him back tightly.

Felix gave one last smile before running down the hallway and down the stairs, probably headed to the day center.

"And don't tell anyone!" Dowoon yelled before it was too late.

"I won't!"

Dowoon smiled to himself and exhaled dramatically. All of his attention was shifted to Sungjin's door flying open, revealing Wonpil.

"Can you come in real quick?" His tone was very conflicting. He was genuine, but sounded like he was acting at the same time. He was sweet, but scared. He was serious, yet reluctant.

"Uh...yeah...sure," he muttered.

Wonpil shut the door behind them and sat on the floor at the foot of Sungjin's bed. His room was slightly nicer than Wonpil's. It was a little bigger and three chairs instead of just the one. There was a bookcase with at least 30 books on it. Wonpil only had the one blue dictionary that he got from god knows where.

Younghyun was lying on Sungjin's bed all sprawled out. Jae and Sungjin were sitting in two of the three chairs, leaving one for Dowoon. Sungjin welcomed him to sit down.

"We wanted to talk you you about something. Do you mind taking a seat?"

Dowoon was a little surprised at how well spoken Sungjin was. He took his offer and sat down in the last open chair.

"What'd you need?"

"We wanna get out of this shithole," Jae blurted very bluntly.

"Yeah, you and me both," Dowoon laughed. "We're on lockdown, not even I can leave. I don't know what you want me to do."

"You just said that you'd help Felix," Jae pointed out. "Why can you help _us_?"

"How'd you even know about that?"

"You were just talking to him right outside my door," Sungjin stood up from his chair, "these walls are thick, but not sound proof. All we want from you, is to at least try to help us get out. This place....is really fucked up."

"Yeah, no shit," Dowoon waved his hands around the room, "look at your room. This place isn't Disney world. But it is just as unsanitary."

"No, there's more to it," Younghyun sat up, "they...do things, like to the patients. The medicine they give us...doesn't help. It...makes us "stay in line". Makes us complacent. Makes us submissive. Do you know why I was sent to the tower?"

"Dangerous behavior? That's what Wonpil told me."

"He was covering for me..."

"What?"

"I'm sorry," Wonpil refused to look at Dowoon. "I never wanted to lie to you. But I...I had to."

"I get it," Dowoon calmed himself down. "I'm not mad at you. Why were you sent to the tower?" He turned his attention back to Hyun

Younghyun sat at the edge of the bed and rested his elbows on his knees and stared Dowoon down.

"I spoke out of turn. I didn't want to take my "prescribed" meds. I didn't want to play whatever sick game they're playing. So, they drugged me and threw me in there." As he was getting a little riled up, Younghyun took a deep breath and calmed himself. "Everyone in there doesn't belong. There are patients here who actually deserve to be thrown in there. Like Yugyeom! He messes with the staff and other patients. He tried to drop a chandelier on Mark's head!"

"And that's why we're not allowed to listen to Phantom of the Opera anymore," Jae added.

Dowoon stared at them in disbelief. Sungjin seemed to catch onto that.

"We know it sounds crazy, but it's true. No patients actually belong here."

"I beg your unbelievable pardon?"

"We all were taken from off the street, in a store, or even from our own homes," Jae explained. "They needed is for..."research."

"Stop beating around the bush and just tell me!"

"They do experiments on us and basically turn our brains to mush!" Younghyun screamed. "Is that explicit enough for ya?"

"Hyun! Lower your voice!" Sungjin whisper-yelled. "There could be a staff member right outside the fucking door!"

Younghyun lied back down on Sungjin's bed with a huff. Dowoon sat back in his chair as he tried to process everything.

"So...let me make sure I understand this. You're telling me...that somebody took each and every one of the patients from their homes...and brought them here...to do experiments on you...and the medicine makes you stay in line?"

They all nod their heads. They waited intensely to see Dowoon's next move, his big plan to get them out of there and run the 'hospital' out of business.

Instead...Dowoon laughs.

"Do you guys think I'm stupid?!" He laughs and throws his head back.

"We're serious, Dowoon!" Jae insists.

"Ok ok ok, so you lie to me, put my job at risk, disrespect my trust, lock me in room and leave me there, steal the keys that were provided for me, and then you tell me yet another lie about the hospital. And now I'm supposed to believe you? Forget everything and help you get out? Bullshit! Maybe you guys do belong here."

"Shut your fucking mouth!" Wonpil yells, now standing. "We haven’t been fair to you at all, we'll give you that. But we need each other! Otherwise, we'll be trapped here slowly becoming real mental patience, and you'll be rotting away behind that desk and not getting nearly enough money to go to college! Cuz they don't have the best track record of paying their employees! Do you want to have a life or not?!"

No one made a sound.

Dowoon stared at each of them, searching for any crumb that they might be lying. Wonpil was dead serious, that's for sure. Well, he wasn't 100%. He had been lied to by him before. And he believed Pil.

From the seems of it, Wonpil was a great liar. Dowoon was determined to not be fooled by him again.

"You've lied to me once. What would make me think that you wouldn't do it again?"

"I understand that I messed with your trust," Wonpil said, significantly less infuriated, "but this isn't something we want to take lightly."

"We've been tortured during our time here," said Sungjin. "They started gaslighting us. Started making us think that we're actually crazy. They forced us into submission so we'll do whatever they say. We were lucky enough to notice before it got out of hand. And we were smart enough to play along so they wouldn't use the blender on us."

"The blender?" Dowoon asked.

"It's what they use to make us go numb so they can experiment on us," Jae explained. "But it causes damage to your mind as a result. Basically it turns your brain to mush, that's why we call it the blender."

"What experiments?" Dowoon still couldn't wrap his brain around all of this. It doesn't make any sense to him.

"They injected you with weird fluids to see how you'll react, they'll do some incisions here and there, all in the name of "science."" He put heavy air quotes over the word science. "None of this information is useful or even sent to someone who could find a way to use it. Mr. Hwang is a sadist and that's all there is to it. Wonpil got it the worst out of all of us."

Wonpil stared at the floor and sat back down. Jae stood up and sat next to Pil, seemingly trying to comfort him.

"What...what'd they do?"

Sungjin let out a tired sigh and rubbed his face. He took a few glances at Pil before turning back to Dowoon.

"Well for starters, they arrested his father and accused him of doing things he didn't do. Once his father was out of the picture, that’s when they took him and brought him here. Right before the blender was used on him for the first time, he got the news that his father was shot in prison. And then his brain was turned to mush. They assumed that he was gay and thought something was wrong with his brain and made some incisions. It fucked him up pretty good. He gets yelled at for the littlest things. Between the blender, the gaslighting used on him, and all the fucked up experiments performed on him, his behavior was greatly affected. As in, he tends to behave as if a child would."

"It's not as bad as it sounds," Wonpil added, "I just behave younger than I am."

"Honestly, it's kinda cute sometimes," Jae playfully smirked. He was rewarded with a hard punch on his shoulder from Wonpil.

"What do you mean he acts like a child?"

"How-how do I put this?" Sungjin asked himself. "He can be gullible, naïve even. He doesn't really like standing up for himself, no matter the situation. His vocabulary is...umm, it's-"

"It's at a third grade level," Wonpil butted in. "I have a dictionary in my room to find the word I'm looking for. But more times than not, I'm looking up the meaning of some words that the staff calls me."

"They treat you that badly?"

"Not all of them," Jae said. "Some are actually nice. And the ones that are...less then nice...half the time they don't think they're doin anything wrong."

"Do you guys get it that hard?"

"Not as bad as Pil, but still...pretty unethical."

Dowoon could not believe what he was hearing. Mr. Hwang and all the other employees seemed so nice and welcoming. But, that's exactly why this place is still thriving. People fall for their traps and this place remains standing.

He thought long and hard about his next move. He took time to look at each and every one of them.

Sungjin. Surprisingly well spoken. Seems rather intelligent and almost like their unofficial leader. He doesn't seem like someone to lie about this shit. He's been very patient with him and the others. Whether or not he decides to trust them, his respect for Sungjin will always be there.

Younghyun. He was scared of him at first. He has a rather intimidating look and demeanor. But once he looked past that, Dowoon could see that he cared deeply about the other three. And even Dowoon. It's not that he was rude or didn't care, he just had his own way of showing it. The treatment he's experienced is beyond unfair. He has a reason for his anger.

Jae. He's the one Dowoon knows the least about. He seems to be a little less serious but there's an underlying sincerity in his words. It's all packaged up. Dowoon knows many people like Jae. In time, he'll open up more.

Wonpil. Who could forget Wonpil. There seems to be more than what they're telling Dowoon. They said that he's fragile and sensitive and while yes, that's very apparent, who wouldn't be in his situation? With everything all of them have gone through, it's no wonder why they might be so persistent on Dowoon helping them.   
  


Dowoon looked around one final time, took a breath, and then spoke. 

“Ok fine, I’ll help you.”

The four of them cheered and even Younghyun smiled at the news.

“On one condition,” and they all sighed.

“What is it?” Jae asked.

“I can’t get you guys out right away. This is going to take a lot of planning. And you guys are going to help. I can’t do this on my own.”

“That’s completely fine!” Sungjin smiled. “It’s worth it!”

“That sounds like a lot of work though...” Jae mentioned.

“You are helping!” Younghyun’s voice rose. “Ok?”

“ok...”

“We really can’t thank you enough,” said Sungjin. “This means the world to us!”

“Don’t mention it,” Dowoon cracked a small smile. “This is helping me too.”

Wonpil stands up and brings them all in for a hug. Dowoon could feel Sungjin trying to break free.

“Gross! Let me out!”

The other laughed at his shriek due to the contact. Dowoon’s walkie-talkie buzzed from his pocket.

“Yoon, what’s going on over there?” JB asked from the other side of the call. “Do we need to come down?”

He panicked. Dowoon looked at the rest of the guys for help.

“Tell him that we wouldn’t let you in,” Younghyun suggested.

“Nah that wouldn’t work. Before Wonpil and I came down he checked the security cameras to look for you guys. They’d see that you let me in.”

“Tell them that you had a “serious talk” with us and that you got your keys back.” Sungjin threw the keys back to Dowoon after giving him that advice.

“Thanks man. I’ll see you guys later.” Dowoon waved to them all before he left the room. He told JB what Sungjin suggested and walked down the halls of that shithole.

Maybe this won’t be so bad.

But then again, it probably will be.


End file.
